visiting my family

i always start my classes by posing a question. i usually get very standard answers to the questions, like if i ask "what will you do this weekend?", my students will say things like- "i will go to Beijing", "i will visit my grandmother" or, "i will play computer games". it can get pretty boring, but i think it's good to do it.

i noticed that when you let the kids have fun with the words they know you can get them to think much more creatively with the language. i think this is something that chinese teachers do not encourage.

today with my private class, i started by asking them what they were going to do for national day (an upcoming chinese holiday). at first, i got similar answers to those mentioned above. but then, one of my students decided to be cheeky and was like, "i will go to America." i was like oh really, well say hello to my family for me. someone said something else and then another little boy said, "i will go to america to see your family." he was so excited when he said it, hahah. then a little back and forth emerged between the two boys about what they were going to do in america with my family. it seemed like it kept getting more disturbing though- going from just visiting my family to finally stealing things from my family. it doesn't happen often when it's not a game but it's nice to see the kids so excited and happy to just try to speak English, even if it's at your family's expense, haha.

more cleaning

the private student i teach at my apartment arrived an hour earlier than expected today. she arrived with gifts and everything- a little bear that said 'i love you' and a jazzy little pen. according to her mother, she really likes me. not only was i passed out when they arrived, but my apartment was also a complete mess (even though the mom had cleaned it last week) because i had new pipes put in and my stuff was all over the place. really embarrassing. i had been planning on cleaning it in the hour before they came. the mom looked mortified when she came in. she immediately set to cleaning my entire apartment again. this time, she even reorganized my stuff and dealt with some of my dirty laundry. i feel like she's like my mom (no offense mom, lol). on one hand, i'm really happy with the results, but on the other hand she needs to stop doing this.

i don't really know why they came an hour early, but i'm guessing it was some sort of communication error that i unknowingly agreed to last time we met. the fact that they have no english is starting to get to me- for example, how do you explain all the different verb conjugations in a language that you barely know and their language has no verb conjugation whatsoever? especially when you get to the irregular conjugations, ie. went, did. i think a chinese english teacher would benefit her more...i feel like i'm failing her when i can't explain things properly in chinese but then again i'm not sure if being able to do so should be part of my job description...

dog

evil little chinese dog. i didn't like the way he was looking at me- that cockeyed stare reminded me too much of sparky back in his better days.

chinese statues

this is a statue at a very popular beach in dalian. i love that they are not pretentious at all about this and just put something entertaining up

orange peels

my little food provider hit an all-time low last week- she gave me an orange peel after class. i think she was trying to tell me that i could put it in some hot water or something. i thought i accepted it graciously, but perhaps not enough because a minute later she also gave me an apple. her english is not that great, but i have noticed that she is participating more this semester than last semester. she always looks so self-satisfied after she speaks that i can't bear to correct her. in fact, i do very little grammar correction. i just want the students to enjoy speaking english and to not be afraid to give it a try.

KUNG FU!

some friends and i decided to start taking kung fu lessons. we had our first class last week and learned some basic positions. it was pretty cool. i decided that i will have a special kung fu name- xiao long, which means small dragon. i think that's pretty suitable for me :)-

cleaning up

this week i started a new private lesson with one of my public school students. the student's mom contacted me through QQ, the Chinese version of AIM. the mom does not speak any english, and her daughter's english is dismal as well. she's way behind where she should be.

today during the lesson the mom asked me if i had a mop. i was like 'uhhh no...why...?' she told me that she was going to clean up my apartment. my apartment is clean, but the floor is a little dirty because there's so much dust in the air. i didn't really know what to do or say, but the mom looked around and found a rag and asked if she could use that so i said okay but i told her that she did not need to do that. the mom proceeded to use this little rag to clean my entire apartment on her hands and knees while i tried to teach her daughter the months of the year. i told her to stop several times but she really wasn't having it. she was like, "don't be embarrassed, you are my daughter's teacher, it's okay." it's crazy how much they respect teachers here. she also added, "chinese people like to clean." even after the lesson was over, she saw another dirty spot where we had been sitting and started cleaning under there. she moved the couch out and everything. i just stood there until she was done. so awkward! however, i am charging them the cheapest price they'll get for a private english lesson, and i have to translate everything i say to the daughter to chinese, which i don't think is very standard for english lessons, so maybe this is some sort of compensation for that?

the emperor and empress, and people wrestling in the horse crap

for peg leg

city meets country

make a story

The kids here are very smart, but sometimes you really have to push them to go past the bare minimum in English class. I think this is because they pretty much memorize the (very boring) English book and don't get a chance to use the vocabulary they learn in novel ways. So, I did a warm-up activity today where I gave the kids 4 words and told them to write a story:

1. monkey
2. dance
3. violin
4. Zhong Xin Primary School (their school)

The first time around, almost every single kid gave me: "There was a monkey at Zhong Xin Primary School and he liked dancing and playing violin." I told them that one sentence was not a very good story, and they're like huh?! In all my classes though, there was always one kid on the first try that BAM whipped out a very creative little story, and then the other students saw what I was looking for.

By the end of it, I had some students coming up with like 3 or 4 stories with those 4 words, and some of them were just telling me them orally rather than writing them down. They were like dying to tell their story. I was very proud of them! My favorite was this one:

"A long, long time ago, Zhong Xin Primary School was a people school. Then, one day, some monkeys came to the school. There was a fight, monkeys vs. people. The people were very scared, so they ran away. Now the Zhong Xin Primary School is a monkey school. The monkeys dance and play violin all day. They are very happy."

Fantastic!

at the grasslands

sorry, the pictures are really out of order. it's my VPN...

The horse ride was much more expensive than I thought it should have been- 300 yuan. My friends couldn’t talk them down any further. In comparison, the overnight tour I could have done with the hostel that even included food would have been 380 yuan. UGH. I realized that it was a total tourist trap and our driver probably knew it. This is why you don’t trust those people at the bus stations! After paying that, I only had 50 yuan left in my wallet, and I still needed to pay the driver 100 yuan for taking me there and I had not eaten anything. This definitely made me a little nervous.

A guide took us on 3 beautiful horses off onto the plains. We were essentially riding bareback- there was just a little mat under us so it was pretty uncomfortable, especially when the horse would trot because you were just bouncing up and down really hard. The horse actually started to run for like 5 seconds, which felt cool, but the guide made the horse stop. The couple told me later that we had not paid enough money for the guide to let the horse run. And I had thought it was a safety issue, lol. So the rest of the time the horse was just going really slow, despite the boyfriend yelling at the horse to go faster for almost the entire duration of the ride.

Although the grasslands were definitely a cool site to see, I was less than impressed with the ride and what we got for our money. One of the guys even insulted me there, flippantly waving his hand at me and saying that I didn’t understand anything. So much for being dressed up like a nice Mongolian man in his costume. At least the girlfriend stood up for me and told him that I did understand and spoke well (albeit a slight exaggeration, hehe). Afterwards, I just wanted to get some water and food, as I still hadn’t eaten and it was like 1 pm.


We went to a yurt (like a central Asian dwelling, see picture) and a woman served us some hot water. I asked about food but the couple told me that it would be really expensive. Seeing that I only had 50 yuan left, I figured I would not be able to get anything. We rested in the yurt for a while, and I just laid down to give them some space. When I sat back up, I saw that the couple was having this all out photo shoot with their smart phones. I was like oh good lord, who are these people. Well, they certainly were not embarrassed about it because they didn’t stop after I got up, and even encouraged me to join in. I took a few pictures with each of them but I think they quickly saw that I was not a very fun model. The girl kept changing positions during our shoot, for example, turning her back to me so we could sit back to back, so I decided that she was the creativity director for this shoot and just copied her. Unfortunately I do not have any of these pictures documented on my camera. Then the girl took out a small mirror and put an additional two pounds of makeup on her face. I had to laugh, here was a very pretty girl who looked like a clown with her (by American standards) extremely feminine boyfriend. I wouldn’t be surprised if they shared their clothes. Finally, they told me that they thought the grasslands were boring and wanted to leave, and I didn’t really have much of a choice but to comply.
As we were going back to the car we got word that a show was about to start. The show consisted of a few cowboys doing some tricks on their horses, like making the horse go really fast and then trying to grab something off the ground. It looked pretty dangerous. They also wrestled, which was a little nasty because there was horse poo all over the ground. Then they named the emperor and the empress and made them ride around on the horse. As soon as I realized this was happening, I wanted to hide behind something. I felt many people looking at me but luckily I escaped being chosen because they made those poor people pay 100 yuan each!! I would have been in debt to them.


Nothing that eventful occurred on the drive back to Hohhot, but once we got into town I got a little nervous about my money situation. I was too scared to tell the driver I needed to go to an ATM until we reached our destination. Luckily, there was an ATM right next to us. He said it was okay so I ran out, forgetting to say good bye to my new friends. I had a little scare at the ATM machine because it wasn’t letting me take money out at first but finally it worked. He looked relieved when he saw me running back.

I had no clue where I was, so I asked him for directions to the train station. I ran off with the sole intention of getting food as soon as possible. Very soon I caught sight of side street with food vendors so I went down it and bought the first thing I saw. As I was paying, I heard a honk behind me and it was the driver! He had come down the street to tell me that I was going the wrong way to the train station. I told him that I was buying food first, and he looked a little embarrassed and drove off. It was good to see that even the prickly money swindlers have a heart too though!

I brought my food to the front of Dico’s so I could immediately get food there next. I really don’t think I have ever been that hungry in my whole life. As I was eating several people started gathering at a distance to watch me eat. I waved at them and downed the rest of my food. Hohhot really needs to diversify its population…

getting to the grasslands

Last month I went to the grasslands in inner Mongolia just outside of Hohhot. Getting there was a little more difficult than I expected because I ended up having to do everything on my own- the tour I thought I could do through my hostel was cancelled. I decided that I would just wake up early the day I wanted to go and go over to the bus station because I read that a city bus went to the grasslands. However, I was not looking forward to a 2 hour trip on what might be a very crowded bus….

The next morning I followed through with my plan and ran over to the bus station without eating breakfast (I had tried to order a breakfast at the hostel the night before but apparently 11 hours notice was not enough). When I arrived at the bus station I was immediately approached by 2 small Chinese men that asked me where I was going. I told them over my shoulder. My impression is that most of the guys that walk around the bus stations holding signs or shouting destinations can’t be trusted. Well, they called after me to come back and pulled out a card that apparently had the name of where I was going written in Chinese. They spoke no English. They told me that they could take me to the grasslands and back for 100 kuai in a private car. I was surprised to find myself considering it- 100 kuai for a private car is pretty cheap and it would have saved me a logistically difficult and uncomfortable ride on the bus. I was intrigued, so I told them that I wanted to see their car. On the way out I asked one of the security guards if they were good people, and she just laughed.

On the way to the car, they must have been scouting for other people to pick up because we ran into a young Chinese couple and they immediately identified them as tourists. It turns out that they were also trying to go to the grasslands. They ended up getting in the car, so I got in too. I figured that they could probably help keep the situation safe. There was already an older woman in the car and one of the little men got in to drive.


It was an interesting drive. First off, the mountain range that separates Hohhot and the grasslands is absolutely beautiful. I wish we could have stopped and hung out there for a while and walked around and taken pictures. I thought they were more beautiful than the part of the grasslands that we went to! Some of the hills were quite lush, but then others were rocky and barren. Between the mountains were deep gorges that cut through straight down into the ground. It looked like water should have been running through them but instead they were just full of very green grass.

The drive was also interesting because the guy drove like a maniac. We were on a small winding road with many slow-moving coal trucks on it so he was winding in and out of them. I don’t think they thought I spoke any Chinese until I started trying to find a seat belt and complaining that he was driving too quickly and scaring me. The girlfriend tried to help me with the seat belt but of course it was broken. They told me not to worry and that there was no problem, but in my limited Chinese I think I basically told them that I did have a problem with it, which probably came out a little harsher than I intended. The driver didn’t say anything, but the woman he was with turned around and smiled at me. So comforting.

The driver was pretty prickly. At one point during a slow moving part of the trip, he started yelling at a nearby car and they both ended up stopping and getting out. My driver got out of the car, yelled at two women for a while and then got back in the car and drove off. I had no clue what was going on.


We finally got the grasslands area and the driver went off the road onto a little path. I thought we had arrived, but it seems that it was just a short cut. We approached 3 elderly Chinese people who were standing of the side of the road. The woman was holding a chain that was connected to a large log blocking the road. Our driver gave them a few yuan and the woman pulled the log off the road. HAHA how cool! I caught the moment in the picture below.


Once we arrived at the grasslands, I had no clue what to do. It was kind of just a big open field with a few people standing around with horses. The couple started talking to the people about riding the horses, so I figured maybe I’d just tag along with them. The girlfriend asked me in really slow Chinese, “dooo youuuu wannnttt toooo ridddee a hoooorseee?” I told her I did, and ended up spending the rest of my time with them there. They didn’t speak any English, but they were super nice and patient with me, although I slowly realized throughout the day that they were possibly the vainest people I had ever met in my life. Too bad the guy smoked so much that his teeth were rotting out of his mouth!

chinese locker rooms...

i was fortunate enough to run into one of my students from last year at the gym tonight and met her mother and her grandmother. the only catch is that i ran into them in the women's locker room so they were all naked. at first when i caught sight of my little student and her grandmother i thought oh man, this is awkward, but there didn't seem to be any awkwardness at all so i just rolled with it. i'm not sure what the protocol would be for a situation like this in the states (although it would likely never happen in the first place) but i don't think it would be how things played out. so the grandma kept asking me questions about whether her granddaughter was smart and things like that and my student was just standing there giggling. the mom finally popped up and her english was pretty good so we chatted a bit too. luckily, i was in my towel during this time, otherwise i think i would have felt a little uncomfortable. i usually do my thing in there like they do and people tend to leave me be, but i think that would have attracted quite a bit of attention. at any rate, china can be a strange place...

bad news

china is becoming more and more like the west right before my very eyes. i thought maybe it was just a fluke last week, but now that i saw several people do it today i think it's official- you have to bus your own tray at the fast food restaurants here now!!!!

as the leftover contents from my meal slid from the tray into the waste bin, i never felt so down in my whole life.

at least they still do bike delivery (see picture)...

picture session

new lesson learned today- do not give your picture to a little chinese girl, this is what could happen. this first one is amazing!

my next meal..

grilled lamb head! mmm

teacher's day

today was teacher's day, which is the same as teacher appreciation day in the states. hoorah! when i entered my 3rd period class one of my super sweet little girls (top left corner) was holding a huge bouquet of flowers and i was like oh no she didn't! to be honest though, coming from her i wasn't that surprised- on the last day of school last year she gave me this huge, glittery pop-up card that was like 'i love you!' haha. her english is far from perfect but definitely improving. she always talks with me a little before and after class which is great practice for her. the girl in red usually tags along too but doesn't say as much.

in this same class is the girl who always feeds me, and today she drew me a picture and gave me one large grape, lol.

aw :(

Jack hutan 7:31:43 PM
My Mum say,I speak with you very good

before this point , he had said about 5 words to me in english, and the rest was in pinyin. so cute, haha.

new school year!

just started the new school year last week. i have 2 new schools and 2 old schools, so its a good mix of new and old students. a few of my old students must have been taking english classes all summer because now some of their spoken english is rockin! it's nice to see the improvement. also, one of my very naughty students in one of my worst classes from last year decided to become the teacher's pet this semester which was a pleasant surprise, although i don't really trust his motivations. we were playing hangman, and he insisted on clearing the board for me after each round, although that also meant that i couldn't get him to sit back in his seat afterwards and stop shouting letters at me. i guess not that much has changed...

my new school today was a refreshing experience- the classes are SMALL, like 25-30 kids each and the kids were most behaved i have ever seen here. part of the reason they were so well-behaved is probably because i am a major resource for them. according to the chinese english teacher there, the school is not a 'priority school' as decided by the local dalian government, so they are allocated less foreign english teachers (my company is part of this government program). some schools i teach at have foreign english teachers in grades 2-6, but this school only has an english teacher for grade 6. by priority school, i think they basically mean a school with rich parents :( it's unfortunate, because the english level at this small school is definitely low and the kids are less confident with their oral english. it's funny how in america our idea of a priority school would be the complete opposite...

the teacher was woefully comparing the small school to another school i teach at down the street which is a priority school but the funny thing is that i really dislike that other school. the teachers are unfriendly and unhelpful, the kids are the worst behaved, and the english teachers have sub-par english! the teacher i met today at this 'bad school' had far better english than any other english teacher i've encountered so far. she also attended my classes and was genuinely helpful.

although, sometimes when people are paying too much special attention to you it can be strange as well. upon meeting my students for the first time at the small school, the english teacher informed me that one of the students was an excellent singer and was very famous in dalian. i was just like oh that's great! chinese people seem to like to brag that things close/related/associated with them are famous in china so i never know what to think. however, she proceeded to make him stand up in front of his class and sing a song for me. i don't know how he felt about that (he didn't really have a choice but to comply so he didn't complain) but it seemed a little much to make him do that on his first class ever with a foreign teacher! after he was done, i heard her tell him to then re-sing the song in english, which definitely made his eyes widen a little, but lucky for him the bell rang. he did have a very nice voice though :)

my takeaway- they take these school rankings and such really seriously here. although there are many, many, outliers, as a whole, i think it really changes the student and teacher psyche for the worse.

chicken feet

the chinese love their chicken feet. i have been told by several people that i needed to try it, so finally my chinese teacher brought me a chicken foot to try. it was a pickled one, which is supposed to be pretty tasty.


i tried to eat a little bit of it but it was really hard for many reasons- of the little meat that there was, it was stringy, tough and hard to get at. the palm looked like it had the most meat on it but how are you supposed to eat a concave surface? if you'll notice, i took a little bite out of the tip of the thumb, hehe. i also ate some of the wrist.

after that i took a look at the little hand with finger nails and couldn't fathom eating it. it just looked too close to its natural form, and eerily, it even looked a bit human. i wasted that poor chicken's lil foot :(

i still contend though that the chinese have some of the worst snack ever. especially at the rest stops they have on the highways, your choices are like chicken feet and other pickled things, nasty little eggs, nasty little 'meat' sausages, chinese bread (which for some reason is ALWAYS sweet), nuts and yogurt. i've had them all, but i usually go for the last 2. they have a few western items, but there is always a strange twist to it. the oreos here come in like 50 different flavors (i accidentally got vanilla milkshake one time and it was gross) and the chips also come in strange flavors like tomato, meat bbq, prawn, crab and cheese, etc. the meat bbq ones aren't so bad ythough :)

bungee jumping

i met up with some couchsurfers that wanted to try bungee jumping here so i went with them as the official photographer. after seeing them push the first girl off so haphazardly that it looked like she got whiplash when she fell, i decided that i could pass. also, after seeing the 'no returning' in red at the bottom of the sign, i was a little spooked :) (yes, i realize they are talking about money)


notice how beautiful the seaside is here- much of the coast is very rocky and mountainous! there is a 22 mile road that snakes along it but i have only walked about 5 miles of it. since i essentially moved on that road, i will be doing quite a bit of walking now. for me dalian is a perfect city- it's big, but not too big, and has a good mix of city life and outdoor life. more pics later.